Impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations persisted in Armenia, reads the 2010 Human Rights Report issued by Amnesty International.

“Freedom of expression was restricted and journalists were attacked. The ban on holding demonstrations in the centre of the capital, Yerevan, which had been introduced in March 2008 during the state of emergency, remained in place. Protection of women and girls against violence fell short of international standards. The government failed to provide a genuine alternative to military service,” says the report referring to state of human rights in Armenia.

According to the report, “no independent inquiry had been conducted into allegations of use of force by police during the March 2008 events.”

Referring to freedom of expression in the country, Amnesty International touched upon the case of Argishti Kiviryan. “On 30 April, Argishti Kiviryan, a lawyer and journalist, was severely beaten by a group of unidentified men outside his home in Yerevan. The attackers reportedly beat him with sticks and attempted to shoot him. The OSCE Representative for Media Freedom called on the authorities to investigate the attack and expressed concern about the lack of investigations into violent attacks against journalists, contributing to a climate of impunity. In July, two suspects were detained. The investigation was ongoing at the end of the year,” the report says.

The report also mentions that some progress was achieved in Azerbaijan-Armenian talks over Nagorno-Karabakh.